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I grew up in a very small town with a very small library. It had a decent collection, but didn't have all the classics.
There are many classic YA/children's books that I would have loved as child.

Please share your reading experiences here.

The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat, one of our YA/Children's books of the month is a book I enjoyed, but would have loved as a child.

The one that stands out the most for me is Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

I really enjoyed her book and the tale. I wish I had read it as a young person. Just makes me wonder how it would have made me feel about the family everlasting. With more wonderment?

I read this one as an adult too, a few years ago. I still think about it from time to time. Everlasting life is such a universal theme, causing unending wonderment.

As an aside, have you seen those "Little Libraries" scattered about? There's one in my very small home town. I no longer live there, but when I go through I see it in a church parking lot. They fascinate me.

There are some little libraries in my neighbourhood, but I stay away from them. And I probably don't have to mention why. 🙂

Rosemarie wrote: "There are some little libraries in my neighbourhood, but I stay away from them. And I probably don't have to mention why. 🙂"

Unless people are leaving p@rn or something there, I'm not sure what the problem is. I've used little neighborhood libraries, and thought about putting up my own. Not sure where the problem is.

Maybe they fill them with mostly adult books that are not porn.

Little Women, Wizard of Oz maybe I would of enjoyed it more as a kid then adult. I think some more later.

I stay away from them because I have too many books already!

Yes, I read Tuck Everlasting as an adult with my 5th graders and I wished I could have experienced it the way they did. I also read Water Babies by Charles Kingsley and was sad I hadn't read it when I was small.

I grew up in a really big family: 11 brothers and sisters, lots of nephews and nieces. We lived in a very small village, no library and we were poor, my mother didn't work, and so we couldn't afford to buy books. So there is a great amount of books that I wish I could have read when I was a child! The books from Tomi Ungerer that I discovered with my daughters, the Jungle Book, Black Beauty, the Wizard of oz, the legend of King Arthur, so much books...
Now I can afford them, so I buy a lot of books for my daughters who love to read too, and I often read with them!

My family was of 5 on a Laborer's salary.
My books consisted of:
Madeline, Mr Popper's Penguins, Three Billy Goat Gruff, Ribsy, The Fire Cat, and Winnie the Pooh!

Martin, I used to love reading with my kids when they were small, and now they are both reading with their kids. My younger daughter has a little girl, under 2, and has been reading her Madeline too.
Last year I discovered The Betsy Tacey books, which I would have loved as a little girl.

Lesle, I remember our teacher reading us Mr. Popper's Penguins out loud to the class. My younger daughter loved the story when I read it out loud because one of the penguins was named Victoria.

I also read Tuck Everlasting just a few years ago. As much as I enjoyed reading it in my fifties, I think it would have been even more meaningful if I had read it as a child.

Victoria was probably thrilled!

I know my assortment was odd but it would be years in between getting books. Me and my younger Sister shared our books of course!

We had a few books, and the first book I remember reading is White Fang by Jack London. It was an illustrated and adapted edition. I was 5 and I loved that book. That's how I discovered Jack London!
I love reading to my daughters. I'm really happy cause they've started reading English books (adapted to their level!). And tonight we read The Wizard of Oz, a 20-page adapted edition for English learners. I'm so proud! 😃

As you should be martin! That is wonderful, I hope they continue!

I would agree with Tuck Everlasting! I read that for the first time a few years ago and LOVED it! We watched a lot of movies when I was young, so I was introduced to A Little Princess, A Secret Garden, and Anne of Green Gables, through film. I would have loved to have read them!
I know it's not a classic, but Harry Potter is another I would have loved to have read as a child. I'm jealous that my daughter gets to grow up with this series alive in her imagination!
I have never heard of Children of the New Forest, so I am going to have to check that out as soon as I leave this page! The Borrowers is another I think I would have loved as a child! I did read a lot as a kid, but I think the Boxcar Children is the only one I can think of that would fit under "classics". Great topic!!! :)

I still have not read The Boxcar Children.
I have read most of Natalie Babbit's books, as well as Tuck Everlasting. One of my favourites is The Search for Delicious.

I forgot The Neverending Story by Ende and Narnia by C S Lewis. what amazing books! I wish I had read them when a child!

The Narnia books are wonderful. I first read them in my 20s because I had not heard of them before that.

Janice wrote: "Rosemarie wrote: "There are some little libraries in my neighbourhood, but I stay away from them. And I probably don't have to mention why. 🙂"

Unless people are leaving p@rn or something there, I'..."
Nor I. I'd never thought about people misusing them.

Susan wrote: "I also read Tuck Everlasting just a few years ago. As much as I enjoyed reading it in my fifties, I think it would have been even more meaningful if I had read it as a child."

Perhaps, the unleashing of a child's imagination! Me, too. I have wondered what my childhood reaction might have been.

Rosemarie wrote: "The Narnia books are wonderful. I first read them in my 20s because I had not heard of them before that."

Since the Reading Fairy didn't tap me with her magic wand until high school, I didn't read the Narnia series until I was 20. And I was, then, devoted! Reread them twice more through the years.
And read the series to each of my two kids. Am now in the process of reading them to my two 9-year old twin grandsons and 7-year old granddaughter. They are totally engrossed and at such a young age!

I think if someone had taken an interest in reading to me as a child, the Reading Fairy might have struck much sooner. However, I read to each of my kids, nightly, into their high school years, and we all enjoyed it! And now it's my grandkid's turn, and I get to do it again. :)

martin eden wrote: "I forgot The Neverending Story by Ende and Narnia by C S Lewis. what amazing books! I wish I had read them when a child!"

Ooooh! I didn't think about Neverending Story and Narnia! Both are on my TBR. The film version of Neverending Story was a favorite of mine as a kid.

I think I would have loved to have read the Percy Jackson and Anne of Green Gables series as a child.I see my girls enjoying them and think I am too old for the former at least.

I love the Percy Jackson books, and I am probably older than you are Catherine. The second set of five is even better than the first five, which are aimed at younger readers.

That is inspiring although Rosemarie, I probably have 100 shades of grey ;)

Rosemarie wrote: "The Narnia books are wonderful. I first read them in my 20s because I had not heard of them before that."

I'll be visiting my grandchildren in February (9 yr old twin boys, 7 yr old girl) and am in the process of reading The Chronicles of Narnia to them. We will finish it up on this visit. They are hooked and can't wait to be read to each night. Next, is The Hobbit and onto The Lord of the Rings trilogy. While it is, of course, above their reading level, I can just see those little brain synapses snapping away as they make connections within context. They will grasp and learn and understand with a bit of explanation now and then. I don't know who's more excited here?!

Sydney, sounds like maybe all of you!

Sydney, I am so happy for you and the Grandkids. It is a wonderful thing (tradition) you are doing and they will remember this reading time with you forever!

The Chronicles of Narnia. I still haven't read, though have watched the movies!

Lesle wrote: "Sydney, I am so happy for you and the Grandkids. It is a wonderful thing (tradition) you are doing and they will remember this reading time with you forever!"

Oh, I do hope so. My children remember those evenings of reading right at bedtime.

I do love reading to children.
PS- I do voices. ;)

Awesome! (*grinning)

Doing voices is the best! 👏

I do a very good Gollum!

I just finished The Wonder Book by Hawthorne. What a great book for children! And it teaches them, too, a little of the Greek mythology, which might give them a head start on the liberal arts.

I vaguely remember reading a book by Hawthorne with colour plates, and the story of King Midas stands out.

I am reading Ray Bradbury's short stories now and they are amazingly creative. Cannot even imagine how he could think of such stuff! I really wish I had read them as a child.I have already started my kids on them now..

Sadly, I've never read LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, The Wind in the Willows, or Treasure Island. I did watch Muppets Treasure Island as a kid but when I read the book last year for the first time I kept picturing Tim Curry as Long John Silver, Kermit as Captain Smollett, and the muppets as the pirates LOL.

HAHAHA!

That is so true. I saw The Firm by John Grisham and when I read the book Tom Cruise as Mitch was all I could picture. Not bad thought though!

martin eden wrote: "I grew up in a really big family: 11 brothers and sisters, lots of nephews and nieces. We lived in a very small village, no library and we were poor, my mother didn't work, and so we couldn't affor..."

I am actually glad to have first read Black Beauty as an adult, for the neglect and abuse described by Anna Sewell would have been devastating to and for horse crazy me as a child, but as an adult I could both appreciate and enjoy not only the story but also the fact that Black Beauty had a huge influence especially in the UK with regard to animal protection laws, getting rid of bearing reins, no longer having a poor horse's tail docked for fashion purposes etc.

Cami wrote: "martin eden wrote: "I forgot The Neverending Story by Ende and Narnia by C S Lewis. what amazing books! I wish I had read them when a child!"

Ooooh! I didn't think about Neverending Story and Narn..."

I read the Neverending story in German when it was first published and I then absolutely despised the movie because it was so different and only showed part one of the story.

Rosemarie wrote: "Martin, I used to love reading with my kids when they were small, and now they are both reading with their kids. My younger daughter has a little girl, under 2, and has been reading her Madeline to..."

Like with me, you probably never got to some classics of children's literature because by the time you immigrated you were already above the age level. I only read the Little House on the Prairie books as an adult, although I did watch the TV series as it was running when we moved to Canada in 1976.

I have been rereading the Little House and found the first two aimed at younger readers, but the books where Laura is older are more interesting. I recently read The Long Winter, which showed just how close they came to starving, even though they had moved to town.

Rosemarie wrote: "I have been rereading the Little House and found the first two aimed at younger readers, but the books where Laura is older are more interesting. I recently read The Long Winter, which showed just ..."

The Long Winter is probably my favourite of the series. And just imagine if the family had actually NOT moved to town but stayed on their claim.

That would have been a disaster, I am sure.

Rosemarie wrote: "That would have been a disaster, I am sure."

Definitely, I do remember that Mr. and Mrs. Boast survived but only barely and they had no children.

When I was small, my mum used to take me to a mobile library - a library in a van, that parked in a street near my home for a time just once a week, moving to different places to take books around the area. I think this encouraged me to love books, as the anticipation was so exciting! Imagine choosing books, then having to wait a whole week before getting more.
Recently I read Wind in the Willows for the first time. I always loved animals, so have no idea why I’d missed it before - really wish I had seen an illustrated version when I was young.

I think I remember reading part of The Wind in the Willows but didn't finish it because it due at the library. I grew up in a very small town so the selection of books was limited, but every three months they would get a new selection of books from the county library, with a good supply of teen and later gothic romances.